Back in September, I had just started an internship at an artist’s studio in Tribeca. Since the weather was nice, we decided to eat our lunch in the park. Mine, either PB&J or a sandwich of hummus, red peppers, onion, and kale; hers, some sort of salad in a small black tupperware container. The park is about two blocks away from the studio, nestled into a funky little triangle between 6th Ave., Beach, and Walker. We entered the park and walked down the center sidewalk to look for an unoccupied bench. As we stepped into the central square (it’s really not a large park, so this was about 10 seconds after our grand entrance), my first glimpse of a distinctive bronze statue made me pause.
Trash bags? Is it really a statue of trash bags? Come on, you can be more original/creative than that.
I looked up and almost laughed out loud. It was sort of trash bags, but also sort of a bear! Was that intentional? Yes, it was most certainly intentional.
Bearlike Construction (2012) is a sculpture by Korean artist Gimhongsok. It was installed in Tribeca Park back in early May and will be there until November 21. I am not writing this post because I think the work is particularly interesting aesthetically – yes, it’s a bear made out of bronze garbage bags, great, take a quick look, now let’s go home. No. What I find interesting and successful about the work is how strong passersby’s reactions are.
In the two months since my first day as an intern, we have eaten in that park many times (though recently it has gotten a bit chilly to do so). One of our primary sources of entertainment is watching as people pass through the park and react to the bear. People laugh, they touch it, they take photographs, sometimes sitting on one of the bear’s outstretched legs while a friend snaps a portrait. Those lap shots are some of my favorites because, whether the subject is a child or an adult, the pose bears a striking resemblance to a kid sitting on Santa’s knee in some shopping mall in the suburbs, asking for candy or some toy (maybe even a particular stuffed animal?), or, possibly, eternal happiness. Smile for the camera, dear. Click.
Why do people react so strongly to the piece? I think that, like me, people first see either the trash bags or the bear. It is then the second glance that reveals the entire picture. If, as in my case, the first revelation is trash, the instinctive response may be one of mild revulsion and potentially curiosity (depending on a person’s aesthetic disposition). It is then a strange jolt to look up and see a teddy bear, something associated with comfort and warmth. I assume the same might happen in reverse for someone who sees the bear first.
Trash is something we want to push away, while a teddy bear is something we wish to hold close. These two elements are then neutralized, given a cold sense of distance, by the bronze in which they are encoded. Trash turned to stone does not smell, attract vermin, or spread disease. But neither is a metal teddy bear comforting to hug when waking from a nightmare. Not for me, at any rate.
I am not a trained art historian or collector, and this is not a sculpture I would want in my living room (and not just because it’s rather large… for the living room I do not have…), but I would argue that it is one of the most successful contemporary sculptures I have recently seen. It acts as a not-so-gentle reminder that art can be as much in the audience as in the performer. These strong emotional reactions, second glimpses, cognitive dissonance, pressing urges to reexamine and reflect – these are art.